I was unbelievably excited to visit Budapest, Hungary, because I haven’t been to Eastern Europe before, or much of any of anywhere outside the UK for that matter. I love the idea of travelling, learning new things, experiencing new cultures and documenting my experience through photography. For years I’ve found myself envious of those travel photographers on Instagram but now I was finally going to a beautiful city I’ve been wanting to visit.
Other than learning basic phrases in Hungarian and bringing all my SD cards I didn’t do much to prepare for the trip. I wish I had borrowed equipment from the uni camera shop such as a Pentax 1000 SLR and some different lenses. I only brought my own camera and standard lens which was sufficient enough.
LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY
Shooting landscape shots was when I most wished for a different lens – perhaps a telephoto lens so I could get the composition I desired while keeping the majority of the image sharp. I’m not well practised when it comes to landscape photogrpahy, in terms of the technical aspect of getting a good quality image. It was a little frustrating to be faced with beautful landscapes and not be able to achieve the photo I envisioned. Although landscapes aren’t something I really want to pursue, it is definitely a big gap in my knowledge that I want to fill.
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
Street photography in Budapest was probably what I was must excited for. I enjoy street photography and being a tourist gives a bit of an excuse to be taking pictures of any and all ordinary things in public without people questioning my motives too much. I found it to be a great way of acquainting myself with the city, and observing the details.
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY: PEOPLE-FOCUSED
Shooting people in the street (with a camera!) is a great way to tell a story in a single frame. How the people look, what they are doing in that moment gives and insight into their life and suggests multiple things that could be going on. It was really refreshing to shoot new types of people with Budapest as the backdrop. There is something different to photographing strangers in a different country than the UK; it is from a different perspective of looking in at other people’s life, at a culture and location you’re not accustomed to.
I liked shooting the soldiers outside the Hungarian Prime Minister‘s house (who I later found out is a bit of a scumbag but that’s neither here nor there). The soldiers are a bit of a spectacle for tourists so were used to being photographed, and I took full advantage of their orderly-ness for neat compositions. This really summed up the strong masculine culture still present in Hungary, that I saw and felt with the locals throughout the trip. While this isn’t necesarily always bad, it was definitely a culture shift and reminded me of the UK several years ago where there was a general stricter expectation for men to be super masculine. This showed through with some locals poking fun at me throughout the trip, which put me off asking local people to take their portait, as I wasn’t sure exactly how safe the environment was, and I didn’t want to put myself in a position that would’ve ruined my experience of the trip as a whole.
I really like my photograph of the restaurant workers on a break with the older lady in the red beret rummaging through her handbag (bottom right). All three of them had such a different energy, and the lady only stopped to look in her handbag, all of them sharing a space giving off such different vibes really entertains me. I wish I shot it better – the framing and focusing arent exactly right, but at least I have that moment captured.
ARCHITECTURE
I loved the mixture and variety of architecture in Budapest. It reminded me of Manchester in that you could see the history of the city through the different eras of buildings; the Hungarian Parliament being the biggest and most powerful building with its majestic and imposing gothic elements of the structure, Buda Castle being one of the oldest wiht a mix of different styles throughout the ages. This is juxtaposed by the modernist buildings from the 1930s favoured by the middle classes in opposition to the state’s outdated style, as well as the cheap and dull 1960s/70s residential apartments.
PORTRAITS
cheeky selfie 👀
My biggest regret from the Budapest trip was the lack of portraits I took. I had wanted to push myself to approach strangers for portraits, as it is usually more accepted when you are a tourist and I thought this would be a good step to building my confidence. But it was easier said than done and I kept talking myself out of it, which I am kicking myself for doing. I did take this convenience store owner’s photo, but this was mostly prompted by him starting a conversation; asking if we were students, where we were from. He was friendly and this made it much easier for me to ask to take his picture. I stayed and spoke to him briefly (regrettably I’ve long forgotten his name), I think I would have spoke with him longer and asked to take more photos if it weren’t for time constraints and sticking with the group.
the shoes on the Danube bank
The Shoes on the Danube Bank is a really emotional installation. It is a memorial for 3500 people (mostly Jews) who were forced to take off their shoes then were shot by facist Arrow Cross military on the river bank so their bodies fell into the river, during world war two. Knowing what had happened to these innocent people while standing where they were shot, looking out across the river was very moving. It felt more effective at communicating loss by showing what would have been left of them (their shoes) rather than sculpting the people themselves.
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